Harness and thill safety attachment.



No. 647,438. Patented Apr. I0, |900.

' B. F. BUOTH.

HARNESS AND THILL SAFETY ATTACHMENT.

(Application led Oct. 9, 1899.)

(No Model.)

l -t v1- 'ient molding thereof.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. BOOTH, OF INDIAOLA, IOVA.

HARNESS AND- THILL SAFETY ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 647,438, dated April 10, 1900.

Application led October 9, 1899.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. BOOTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at In-` dianola, in the county of Warren and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Harness and Thill Safety Attachment, of which the following is a speciiication.

The object of this invention is to provide improved means for attaching and detaching a harness relative to a thill or thills.

My invention consists-in the construction, arrangement', and combination of elements hereinafter set forth,pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan illustrating the means employed and the positions thereof in attaching thills to a harness. Figs. 2 and 3 are perspectives of separable portions of the device, Fig. 3 being reversed relative to Fig. 2 in order that the views may show the` mean or approximate faces of the members. Fig. 3 is shown partly in section, a portion being broken away to expose the interior thereof. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section of the complete device, and4 Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the complete device on the indicated line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective illustrating a slightly-modified construction of one of the members of the device.

In the construction of the device as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 the numeral 10 designates a base-plate or clip, concavoconvex in cross-section and provided with holes in its end portions," so shaped and arranged as to receive screws 11 12, whereby the plate is attached, removably and replac` ably, toa thill. (Dotted lines.) The baseplate or clip 10 is formed with a boss 13, integral with and projecting lateral-ly from the central portion of its convex face, and a slot 10 is formed in the plate behind the boss to lighten the 'plate and provide for the conven- The boss 13 is bored longitudinally in communication with the slot 10 of the plate, and the extremities of the bore are in alinement with each other and parallel with the trend of the plate. A slide-bearin g 14 is located in and transversely of the bore of the boss 13 and is fixed to or formed on the inner face of said boss. A

groove 15 is formed in the convex face of the washer.

Serial No. 733,118. (No model.)

plate 10 at the rear of the boss 13 and com- The latch 16` is formed with an ear 16", abutting the rear j end of the boss 13 at times, anda stem 1,7 is xed to or formed on said ear and extends rearwardly therefrom through a slide-bearing 18, formed on and projecting late-rally from the plate 10 in alinement with said ear. A ring 19 is mounted in the rear end portion on the stem 17, and a latch-cord 2O is attached to said ring and extends rearwardly therefrom to the vehicle. (Not shown.) A tongue 21 is formed on and extends forwardly from the ear 16L in alinement with the stem 17 and is arranged for rectilinear reciprocation within and outside of the rear portion of the bore of the boss 13. The latch 16 is odset in an inclined plane within the bore of the boss 13 and terminates at its forward end in a tongue 22, normally projecting from the forward portion of said bore and arranged for rectilinear reciprocation in the slide-.bearing 14. An expansive coil-spring 23 is mountedon the stem 17, between and impinging on the earlG and slide-bearing 1S. A trace-plate 24 is provided and is formed with a billet 25 at its rear end for attachmentthereto of a trace 26, and billets 27 28 are formed on the edges `of the trace-plate for attachment thereto of the back-band or saddle 29 and the belly-V band 30. Ears 3l 32 are formed and project laterally from the trace-plate 24 in such a manner as to engage opposite ends of and embrace nthe boss 13, and said ears are apertured in alinement with each other and with the bore of the boss to receive the tongues ,21 22. The forward portion of the trace-plate 24 is' tubular and is formed'with an apertured end piece shaped to receive an eyebolt 33. The inner end of the eyebolt 33 is provided with a washer 34 and nut 35, and an expansive coil-spring 3 6 is mounted on said bolt between and impinging on the end piece and The nut 35 is omitted from Fig. 3 to more clearly show the construction of the washer 34. The eye of the eyebolt 33 is shaped for attachment to a hame-tug 37, and the trace-plate and devices carried thereon serve to connect the trace and hame-tug.

In practical use the tongues 21 22 enter IOO ,24"andacross-I the plate.

and engage inthe ears 32.31,-respectively,

and connect the trace-plate to the;baseplatef -away from the boss 13, thuseectuallydisengaging the trace-plate Vfrom the bascfplate and unhitching the animal=from= theshafts or thills.

`In ltheconstruction o't' i the Vdevice asLshoWn,

in Fig. 6 vthe trace-plate124a is vformedyt'ithl flanges 24? 24C,- connectingthe ears 31? 32,;and

- saidfiianges are slotted. The billets 2728 are l omitted, and a ton'guei38 is located oniandv projectslaterally from; the centralvportion of the plate between the flanges and intermediate of the-ears. Y Astrap 39 islremployed to- @connect thebelly-band 30and1fsaddle 29 and is=exten`ded from-the slots of the ilangesf24tb Thestrap 39 isprovidedvwith a series-of holes v4:0,arranged to `receive the tongue 38, lWherebyvvhcn -thestrap is drawn taut movement of thefplaterelativey tothe vstrap ina vertical direction is Iprevented.

I claim'as my inventionm I l. 'Filebase-'plate provided Withmeansfforattachment to a-thill and formedwithaslot in its central portionand a groove in one face communicating- With said slot, the -boss 'f on and vprojecting laterallyffrom lthe base-'plate over the slot therein and bored longitudinally,

the latch mounted withinv the bore of theboss and extending within the groove ofthe plate,

tongues on-said latch, a traccvplate, apertured v-ears ,onlth-e trace-plate arranged to embrace the boss and receive the tongues of the latch, a spring on the latch, a latch-cord leading from said latch, and means for attaching harness to a trace-plate.

2. A harness and ihill attaching device, comprising the base -plate arranged and shaped for attachmentto a thill, a tubular boss on said plate, a latch slidably mounted in said plate and boss, a spring holding said latch in one direction, which latch is oset and inclined, a trace plate arranged and shaped for attachment to a harness, ears on said trace-plate apertured for engagement by the latch, one ot' said/ears being, so located as tobe engaged by theinclined olset portion of the latch attimes.

3. 'JA-harness and tliill `attaching device, comprising'the base -plate arranged and shaped for lattachment'to a thill, a tubular boss on said plate, Aail-atcb slidahly mounted in-saidplate andfboss, said latch-bein g formed `With-an inclined offset inits central portion,

a stem on the'latch, a slide-bearing Within -which '-'the stem may'reciprocate, an-ear on the latch, `an lexpansive coil-spring on the -stem bet-Ween and impinging the earrand slidebearing,-tongueson thelatch in alinement with the stem, a'slide-bearing Within the boss and -arrangedto receive one of 'the`tongues,

- a trace-plate .provided'withmeans for attachment-to a saddle and belly-band, an eyebolt in the traceeplate,spring-held in one direc- -tionand arrangcdfor attachment to a hainevtug, ears on vthe trace-plate arranged and shaped to 4embrace* said boss and apertured torcceive thesaid'tonguemand means for moving' the latchv against the resilience of the spring on the stem.l

BENJAMIN F. BOOTH. -Witncsses:

J. M. BROWN, R. T. -ELsoN. 

